SAVANNAH, Ga. () – Savannah residents could be looking at higher utility costs each month if a proposed stormwater fee passes city council.

Monday was the first of several meetings for residents to learn more about the proposed fee.

“Some floods, some water is seeping into homes or clouding streets, which makes it difficult for people to get to and from work or to and from school,” Savannah resident Dwayne Marshall said. “So, that’s been hugely a challenge in different parts of town throughout the calendar year.”

The proposed Stormwater Utility Fee would go toward efforts to mitigate flooding and improve drainage around Savannah.

“This fee is to get off the general fund and the property tax, the sales tax, and have a funded mechanism, a funded department, that can up the level of service on our existing infrastructure,” Director of Stormwater Management for the City of Savannah, Zack Hoffman, said.

The proposed fee is not a tax. Residents’ fees would be determined by how much stormwater runoff their property has the potential to produce, not the value of their property.

Hoffman described the fee as being based on “The amount of impervious [area] and the amount of runoff you’re going to create, which goes into the city’s system.”

Pervious, or absorbent, surfaces include lawns and gardens. Impervious, or nonabsorbent, surfaces, include parking lots and rooftops.

Therefore, large, commercial properties with more impervious surfaces, like warehouses, would pay significantly more in stormwater fees.

“It’s a pretty minimal fee for residential properties. So, I’m not too concerned about the additional cost. I’m more looking for the results of having a better program,” Courtney Resh, a Savannah resident, said.
Monday’s meeting was the first in a series of six, one for each district.

District 3: Monday, April 21, 6-8 p.m.

Pennsylvania Avenue Resource Center, 425 Pennsylvania Ave.

District 6: Tuesday, April 22, 6-8 p.m.

Windsor Forest Community Center, 414 Briarcliff Cir.

District 2: Wednesday, April 23, 6-8 p.m.

Delaware Community Center, 1815 Lincoln St.

District 5: Thursday, April 24, 6-8 p.m.

Liberty City Community Center, 1401 Mills B. Lane Blvd.

District 1: Monday, April 28, 6-8 p.m.

Coastal Georgia Center, 305 Fahm St.

District 4: Wednesday, April 30, 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Jenkins High School, 1800 E. Derenne Ave.